Sony pins hopes on the PS4, as gaming division flounders

Sony’s most recent financials indicate that their PlayStation business isn’t doing very well at all, though the company has high hopes for increased profits when the PlayStation 4 arrives later this year. While the company as a whole swung to a profit for the first time in half a decade, their gaming division saw a massive slide in income.

The company’s PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3 sales have slowed with the anticipation of the PS4. Sony reports year over year declines in nearly every category in their gaming business. They’ve sold less PlayStation Consoles (PS3 & PS2), they’ve sold less handhelds (PSP & PS Vita), and software sales were down as well. While the company expects next year to be brighter, it’s only by a slight margin.

Sales are expected to increase significantly with the introduction of the PlayStation 4

“Sales are expected to increase significantly primarily due to the planned introduction of the PlayStation 4 in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014. Operating income is expected to be essentially flat year-on-year primarily due to an increase in research and development expenses and marketing expenses related to the introduction of the PS4, offset by the impact of the above-mentioned increase in sales.”

While the company has high hopes for the PS4, Sony seems to be somewhat bearish on the outlook for the PS Vita, despite marketing it as the ultimate companion accessory for the new console. Between the PSP and PS Vita, Sony only expects to sell around 5 million units, presumably at a discounted price.

It’s certainly nice to see Sony turning around their financial troubles of late, and hopefully their PlayStation business picks up as the next generation blossoms. It’s too early to know for sure, but something tells me that Sony will be attempting to monetize their PlayStation fanbase in new ways in the next generation. The current PlayStation Plus subscription has proven to be a worthwhile investment for PlayStation owners, now if Sony could only get more people to subscribe to the service like Microsoft does with the Xbox Live online network, they’d be in business.